Overall very good review. You told me everything I needed to know about the game and your analogies were very good. I have not played this so I may be wrong but you seemed a bit harsh. Could it be that your previous experience with Cooking Mama skewed your view?

I'm certain that my previous experience with the series impacted my view on the newest one. My previous experience with the games showed me that the franchise can do several things well and provide an excellent experience, one that I've seen other gamers also remark upon. This newest installment makes a few attempts to distance itself from some of those things and doesn't bring anything better to the table. It can be difficult to properly balance the negative with the positive, and I hope that I didn't drop the ball in this case. It sounds like I did at least cover what I should have and (hopefully) provided enough information that you as a reader can say "Hmm, I might want to check that out because I might like it more than he did" or "After hearing that, I'm not as sure that this game is as good for me as the earlier ones might be."

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto

After reading your review I am more inclinded to try Cooking Mama II rather than Cooking Mama III even though you gave it a 7/10. I seemed (just a guess) you just had more fun with the previous installment. I'm OK with that too as it gives me a direction to pursue and that is all you can ask of a review.